Legacy Shadows
Stencil shadows were a long-time Roblox feature that could be enabled in the Rendering section of Settings from 2006 to 2014. The feature allowed bricks and other objects to cast basic shadows based on the current location of the Sun in the sky. Stencil shadows are one of the longest-lasting features Roblox has ever had. They were removed fully in 2014, after 8 years since its implementation. In 2013, general legacy shadows were removed during the testing and introduction of dynamic lighting, however, Humanoids continued to cast stencil shadows until some point in 2014. The Rendering section of Roblox had multiple options regarding stencil shadows. The default option for players was set on "Automatic", which meant that the game would either have full shadows, no shadows, or character-only shadows, based on their hardware. Most Roblox players could handle character shadows, but not full shadows. The other options could also be enabled manually. History In 2003 up to 2006, Roblox had a very primitive shadow system that can be seen in some screenshots. However, these were not likely to be the same stencil shadows that were introduced later. In 2006, stencil shadows were introduced during the development of the first "true" Roblox client. During this period of time, options regarding stencil shadows did not exist; one could simply choose to have stencil shadows enabled or to not have them. However, it is likely that upon the downloading of the Roblox client, the hardware of the user was calculated, which determined whether or not stencil shadows would be enabled. In 2008, the settings for stencil shadows were updated from a simple check box to three separate options; on, off, and automatic. Automatic was the default option for new players; it calculated the hardware of the user and determined whether or not shadows were suitable for them. 2009 saw the introduction of the "CharacterOnly" option to shadow settings. When enabled, it would mean that all shadows would be disabled except shadows cast by Humanoids (characters). The "On" option was also renamed to "All". Another change to stencil shadows in 2009 was the introduction of mesh part shadows - previously, only parts could cast shadows, but now mesh parts also did. Preparations to overhaul Roblox's lighting started in 2012. The project was titled "Dynamic Lighting", and would allow for things like localized lighting (i.e Pointlights, Spotlights) to be possible. Testing for this feature began in 2013. Dynamic lighting was fully released on May 9, 2013, but players could still use old lighting until a few weeks later. At this point, stencil shadows were partially removed - their options within the Rendering section of settings were removed, but all players cast shadows by default. However, players could imitate full stencil shadows by putting a Humanoid inside a model. This would make the model cast a shadow. Removal At some point in 2014, stencil shadows were fully removed. This meant that players did not cast a stencil shadow anymore. Instead, old player shadows were replaced by a simple shadowmap effect with an intense blur applied and low resolution, making it look almost blob-like. New shadows - which replaced stencil shadows, worked differently than stencil shadows, looked similar to the player shadows mentioned above, but with an even more intense blur and a low resolution applied. They were also quite unrealistic in comparison with stencil shadows. Voxel lighting The introduction of Voxel lighting in early 2019 introduced the "ShadowMap" type lighting, which can be turned on inside the Lighting properties of a game. ShadowMap lighting is a modern imitation of stencil shadows which is a modification of the Voxel-type lighting. It allows parts to cast shadows, like stencil shadows, but the blur can be configured in intensity. However, since this is a form of voxel lighting, lower blur intensity will display more pixels, while higher blur intensity will obscure pixels more. Behavior Stencil shadows worked by simply rendering a dark spot in a brick shape in one side of a brick. The shading engine would work and look similarly to how shades are in real life; the stencil shadows will become taller and thinner at morning and sunset. Stencil shadows typically begin to appear during sunrise after twilight, and they will get shorter and shorter until reaching mid-day, when they will be shortest. Stencil shadows will begin to lengthen again, until sunset, in which they will disappear as night falls. In most versions of Roblox, since the Moon also provides natural illumination (albeit a low amount of light), shadows may be seen at night. However, this is most noticeable when the camera is pointed toward the direct specular highlight of the Moon. See also * Bloom * Depth of Field * Sun Category:Feature Category:Discontinued Feature Category:2003 Feature